GOLF

GOLF; Kite, With a Final 69, Outlasts Wadkins

By JAIME DIAZ, Special to The New York Times

Published: January 7, 1991

CARLSBAD, Calif., Jan. 6—
As he has during his entire career, Tom Kite combined steadiness with resiliency this afternoon, outlasting Lanny Wadkins and winning the Infiniti Tournament of Champions here at the La Costa Resort and Spa.

Kite shot a final-round round three-under-par 69 to complete a 72-hole performance of 16-under 272, which featured four rounds in the 60's. It was Kite's second victory in the Tournament of Champions -- his first was in 1985 -- and earned him $144,000.

"I'm really determined to make this year the best one I've ever had," said the 41-year-old Kite, who in 1989 set the PGA Tour record for most money won in a season, with a total of $1,395,278. "If I continue to go out and play with patience and control, that would do it. Patience won for me today, no doubt about it." Wadkins Is a Stroke Back

The aggressive Wadkins finished one stroke back. Shooting at the flags all day, he closed fast with a 68 of his own, but he missed a 4-foot par putt on the 71st hole that cost him the lead. Chip Beck, Fred Couples and Wayne Levi tied for third at 12-under 276.

"I'm very pleased with the way I played; it's just unfortunate that I kicked it away like I did on 17," said Wadkins, who missed six putts of 15 feet or less while gunning for his 20th career victory in 21 seasons on the PGA Tour.

In the senior division, Bruce Crampton got up and down from bunkers five times to shoot a final-round 71 for a total of nine-under 279, which beat Frank Beard by four shots.

After Kite began the day with a two-shot lead at 13-under 203, he and Wadkins made the nine-hole turn in two-under 34. Wadkins fell three shots behind when Kite made a 35-foot putt to birdie the par-4 10th hole, but the Virginian wrested that lead away when he exploded with three consecutive birdies.

Playing in the twosome in front of Kite, Wadkins began his assault by holing a 2-foot putt on the 541-yard, par-5 12th hole, an 8-foot putt on the 410-yard 13th and a 12-foot putt after a solid 3-iron to the 204-yard 14th. Appearing to Be in Control

Kite, who knew Wadkins had tied him, hit a poor tee shot to the left of the green on the 14th, chipped to 12 feet and missed the putt for a bogey that put him one behind. With four holes to go, it looked as if Wadkins, considered one of the game's premier front-runners, was back in control of the tournament he had led by three shots after 36 holes.

But Kite, who has regained confidence in his short game, hit a 6-iron to 20 feet on the 423-yard, par-4 four 16th hole and drilled the putt to reclaim a tie for the lead.

"The putter is back," said Kite, who until the final months of 1990 struggled with his cross-handed putting style.

Up ahead, on La Costa's feared 569-yard, par-5 17th hole, Wadkins was committing the mistake that would cost him the tournament. After hitting a sand wedge from 100 yards to about 18 feet, Wadkins aggressively charged the birdie putt, running it 4 feet past the cup. He then missed the comeback to fall a shot behind.

"I just kind of lost my concentration," said Wadkins, who had left a 15-foot birdie putt just short on the 15th hole.

Back in the lead, Kite played the last two holes solidly. He missed a 6-footer for birdie on 17 that would have given him a two-shot lead, then hit a long drive off the 18th. With the tournament in the balance, he closed out the victory by hitting a bold 6-iron from 160 yards over a greenside bunker to within 8 feet of the hole, from where he two-putted for the victory.

It was an old-fashioned shootout by two players with some remarkable similiarites. Both are 41 years old, with Wadkins, born on Dec. 5, older by four days. As 20-year-olds in 1970, they tied for the 72d hole lead in the United States Amateur, with Wadkins winning the playoff.

It is debatable who has had the better record as a pro. Wadkins has won 19 tournaments including a major championship, the 1977 PGA Championship. Kite, who has now won 15 tournaments, entered this year as the all-time PGA Tour money-winner with $6,402,893. He was the Tour's Player of the Year in 1989, but has not won a major championship.

"Me and Lanny, we just have a lot of things in our career that we haven't done yet," Kite said. "I still have a lot of things that I need to do, that I want to do."

There is little doubt that winning a major championship would give Kite a considerable lift up the career ladder. But the native of Austin, Tex., would not actually specify that his primary goal is winning a Grand Slam event.

"You want to win as many tournaments as you can," he said. "Naturally, you start at the top and go down from there. But the more you win, the better you are going to be rated when it's all said and done."

The Tournament of Champions may not be a major, but considering Kite's impressive performance today, it may become the foundation for one.